Wearable device, wearable device system and method for controlling wearable device

ABSTRACT

A wearable device comprising: a band unit; and a vibration generating unit coupled to the band unit. The band unit comprises a communication unit receiving a first signal by a predetermined communication method and a control unit determining an amplification extent of the first signal received from the communication unit and generating a second signal based on the determined amplification extent, and the vibration generating unit receives the second signal from the control unit and generates a vibration corresponding to the second signal.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from and the benefit of Korean PatentApplication No. 10-2015-0164761, filed on Nov. 24, 2015, which is herebyincorporated by reference for all purposes as if fully set forth herein.

BACKGROUND

Field

The present invention relates to a wearable device, a wearable devicesystem and a method for controlling the wearable device.

Discussion of the Background

Along with the recent advances in mobile device related technology,smart phones, wearable devices, or the like, become more widespread. Thewearable device can be worn on the user's body and may transmit/receivedata through communication with smart phones or the like.

Meanwhile, the smart phone is limited in communication when it is usedin a public place, and personal privacy of smart phone users may not beprotected. In addition, in a case where there are severe backgroundnoises, communication quality may be degraded. In order to improve thecommunication quality, a separate device, such as an ear phone or aheadset, is required.

According to embodiments of the present invention, a personal privacyissue can be solved while improving communication voice quality.

In addition, voice quality optimized to users can be provided bydetermining an amplification extent of a voice signal based on userinformation.

Further, user convenience can be improved by skipping a main body suchthat all components are disposed in a band unit and a vibrationgenerating unit coupled to the band unit.

The above and other objects of the present invention will be describedin or be apparent from the following description of the preferredembodiments.

The above information disclosed in this Background section is only forenhancement of understanding of the background of the inventive concept,and, therefore, it may contain information that does not form the priorart that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skillin the art.

SUMMARY

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention disclose a wearabledevice comprising, a band unit and a vibration generating unit coupledto the band unit, wherein the band unit comprises a communication unitreceiving a first signal by a predetermined communication method and acontrol unit determining an amplification extent of the first signalreceived from the communication unit and generating a second signalbased on the determined amplification extent, and the vibrationgenerating unit receives the second signal from the control unit andgenerates a vibration corresponding to the second signal.

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention also disclose awearable device system comprising: a wearable device worn on a user'sbody and a wireless communication device providing the wearable devicewith a first signal, wherein the wearable device comprises a band unitdetermining an amplification extent of the first signal and generating asecond signal based on the determined amplification extent and avibration generating unit coupled to the band unit, receiving the secondsignal and providing the user's body with a vibration corresponding tothe second signal.

An exemplary embodiment of the present invention also disclose a methodfor controlling a wearable device, the method comprising receiving afirst signal from an external device, determining an amplificationextent of the first signal and generating a second signal based on thedetermined amplification extent and generating a vibration correspondingto the second signal.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and areintended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the inventive concept, and are incorporated in andconstitute a part of this specification, illustrate exemplaryembodiments of the inventive concept, and, together with thedescription, serve to explain principles of the inventive concept.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a wearable deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an external appearance of the wearabledevice shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an internal appearance of the wearabledevice shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a wearable deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention is worn on user'sbody;

FIG. 5 is a detailed block diagram of a band unit shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a method for controlling a wearabledevice according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating the method for controlling a wearabledevice shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment for determining anamplification extent of a first signal;

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an amplification method according tothe embodiment for determining an amplification extent shown in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating the amplification method accordingto the embodiment for determining an amplification extent shown in FIG.8;

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment for determining anamplification extent of a first signal;

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating still another embodiment fordetermining an amplification extent of a first signal;

FIGS. 13A, 13B, 14A, 14B, 15A, 15B, 16, 17, and 18 are diagramsillustrating various embodiments for explaining coupling relationshipbetween a band unit and a vibration generating unit;

FIG. 19A and FIG. 19B are a diagram illustrating a method for driving awearable device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a wearable device system according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 21 is a diagram illustrating a method for operating the wearabledevice system shown in FIG. 20; and

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment for determining anamplification extent of a first signal shown in FIG. 21.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE ILLUSTRATED EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of various exemplary embodiments. It is apparent, however,that various exemplary embodiments may be practiced without thesespecific details or with one or more equivalent arrangements. In otherinstances, well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagramform in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring various exemplaryembodiments.

In the accompanying figures, the size and relative sizes of layers,films, panels, regions, etc., may be exaggerated for clarity anddescriptive purposes. Also, like reference numerals denote likeelements.

When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “connected to,”or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on,connected to, or coupled to the other element or layer or interveningelements or layers may be present. When, however, an element or layer isreferred to as being “directly on,” “directly connected to,” or“directly coupled to” another element or layer, there are no interveningelements or layers present. For the purposes of this disclosure, “atleast one of X, Y, and Z” and “at least one selected from the groupconsisting of X, Y, and Z” may be construed as X only, Y only, Z only,or any combination of two or more of X, Y, and Z, such as, for instance,XYZ, XYY, YZ, and ZZ. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. Asused herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of oneor more of the associated listed items.

Although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describevarious elements, components, regions, layers, and/or sections, theseelements, components, regions, layers, and/or sections should not belimited by these terms. These terms are used to distinguish one element,component, region, layer, and/or section from another element,component, region, layer, and/or section. Thus, a first element,component, region, layer, and/or section discussed below could be termeda second element, component, region, layer, and/or section withoutdeparting from the teachings of the present disclosure.

Spatially relative terms, such as “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,”“upper,” and the like, may be used herein for descriptive purposes, and,thereby, to describe one element or feature's relationship to anotherelement(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the drawings. Spatiallyrelative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of anapparatus in use, operation, and/or manufacture in addition to theorientation depicted in the drawings. For example, if the apparatus inthe drawings is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath”other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the otherelements or features. Thus, the exemplary term “below” can encompassboth an orientation of above and below. Furthermore, the apparatus maybe otherwise oriented (e.g., rotated 90 degrees or at otherorientations), and, as such, the spatially relative descriptors usedherein interpreted accordingly.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, thesingular forms, “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the pluralforms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Moreover,the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes,” and/or “including,”when used in this specification, specify the presence of statedfeatures, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/orgroups thereof, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one ormore other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components,and/or groups thereof.

Various exemplary embodiments are described herein with reference tosectional illustrations that are schematic illustrations of idealizedexemplary embodiments and/or intermediate structures. As such,variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result, forexample, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to beexpected. Thus, exemplary embodiments disclosed herein should not beconstrued as limited to the particular illustrated shapes of regions,but are to include deviations in shapes that result from, for instance,manufacturing. For example, an implanted region illustrated as arectangle will, typically, have rounded or curved features and/or agradient of implant concentration at its edges rather than a binarychange from implanted to non-implanted region. Likewise, a buried regionformed by implantation may result in some implantation in the regionbetween the buried region and the surface through which the implantationtakes place. Thus, the regions illustrated in the drawings are schematicin nature and their shapes are not intended to illustrate the actualshape of a region of a device and are not intended to be limiting.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientificterms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by oneof ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure is a part. Terms,such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should beinterpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning inthe context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in anidealized or overly formal sense, unless expressly so defined herein.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments will be described with reference tothe accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a wearable deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the wearable device 10 according to an embodimentof the present invention may include a band unit 100 and a vibrationgenerating unit 200.

The band unit 100 may receive a first signal S1 by a predeterminedcommunication method and may determine an amplification extent of thefirst signal S1. The first signal S1 may be a voice signal. The bandunit 100 may generate a second signal S2 by amplifying the first signalS1 based on the determined amplification extent. Thereafter, the bandunit 100 may provide the vibration generating unit 200 with thegenerated second signal S2.

The vibration generating unit 200 may receive the second signal S2 fromthe band unit 100 and may generate a vibration corresponding to thesecond signal S2.

In more detail, the band unit 100 may receive the first signal S1 froman external device by the predetermined communication method. Here, theexternal device providing the first signal S1 is not particularlylimited so long as it is a device capable of communicating with thewearable device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention.For example, the external device may be a mobile device, such as a smartphone or a tablet PC, a server or other wearable devices.

The vibration generating unit 200 may generate a vibration correspondingto the second signal S2. Accordingly, the vibration generating unit 200may provide a portion in direct contact with the vibration generatingunit 200, e.g., user's body, with the generated vibration, which willnow be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an external appearance of the wearabledevice shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an internalappearance of the wearable device shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the wearable device 10 according to anembodiment of the present invention may be worn by a user.

The band unit 100 may be curved in a streamlined shape according to thepart of the user's body on which the wearable device 10 is worn. Forexample, the band unit 100 may be the user's wrist. In this case, theband unit 100 may be curved in a streamlined shape according to theuser's wrist.

In an exemplary embodiment, the band unit 100 may include a material,such as a metal, textile, leather, rubber, synthetic fiber, wood,ceramic or plastic. In addition, the band unit 100 may include layers ofmultiple materials stacks to have a multi-layered structure.

The band unit 100 may generally include one surface being in directcontact with the user's body and the other surface facing the onesurface. Here, the portion in direct contact with the user's body is aportion to which the vibration generated by the vibration generatingunit 200 is applied. Therefore, the vibration generating unit 200 mayprovide the vibration generating unit is exposed to the one surface ofthe band unit to then supply the user's body in contact with the onesurface of the band unit with the vibration.

Meanwhile, the vibration generating unit 200 may be coupled to the bandunit 100. Coupling types of the vibration generating unit 200 with theband unit 100 will later be described with reference to FIGS. 13 to 15.

The band unit 100 may include a control unit 110, a communication unit120, a power supply unit 130 and an audio I/O unit 140. Referring toFIG. 2, the audio I/O unit 140 may be exposed to the one surface of theband unit 100 to provide a sound to the outside or to receive a soundfrom the outside. Referring to FIG. 3, the control unit 110, thecommunication unit 120 and the power supply unit 130 may be positionedwithin the band unit 100. Therefore, when the band unit 100 is viewedfrom the outside, the audio I/O unit 140 may be visible, but the controlunit 110, the communication unit 120 and the power supply unit 130 maybe invisible, but aspects of the present invention are not limitedthereto. The audio I/O unit 140 may also be positioned within the bandunit 100. In addition, the positional relationship of the componentsshown in FIGS. 2 and 3 in the band unit 100 is provided only forillustration, but the positions of the respective components are notlimited to those shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The band unit 100 may include a coupling unit 180 disposed on at leastone of one lengthwise side of the band unit 100 and the other sidefacing the one lengthwise side. The coupling unit 180 may couple the onelengthwise side and to the other side of the band unit 100. Accordingly,the wearable device 10 may be attached to or detached from the user'sbody. The coupling unit 180 may include a plurality of coupling units.In an exemplary embodiment, the coupling unit 180 may be disposed on theone lengthwise side and the other side of the band unit 100,respectively, to then be coupled to each other.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a wearable device (10)according to an embodiment of the present invention is worn on user'sbody.

Referring to FIG. 4, the wearable device 10 may be worn on the user'sbody, specifically, on the wrist. In the illustrated embodiment shown inFIG. 4 and the corresponding description of the specification, thewearable device 10 is worn on the user's wrist, but aspects of thepresent invention are not limited thereto. For example, the wearabledevice 10 may also be worn on the user's neck, finger, or head.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the band unit 100 worn on the user's wristmay amplify the first signal S1 received from the external device andmay generate the second signal S2. The band unit 100 may provide thevibration generating unit 200 coupled to the band unit 100 with thegenerated second signal S2. The vibration generating unit 200 maygenerate a vibration corresponding to the second signal S2 and mayprovide the user's wrist with the generated vibration. In an exemplaryembodiment, the user may lay his/her finger on the ear, specifically onthe cartilage, and may hear the sound corresponding to the first signalS1 received from the outside.

Meanwhile, the wearable device 10 according to an embodiment of thepresent invention may further include a main body 300. In an exemplaryembodiment, the main body 300 may include a display unit for displayinga screen. The main body 300 may be connected to or disconnected from theband unit 100. For example, when the band unit 100 is connected to themain body 300, the wearable device 10 according to an embodiment of thepresent invention may be worn on the user's in the form of a watch.However, when the band unit 100 is not connected to the main body 300,the wearable device 10 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention may also be worn on the user's in the form of a band. Inaddition, the type of the main body 300 is not limited to that shown inFIG. 4, so long as it can be connected to or disconnected from the bandunit 100.

That is to say, in the wearable device 10 according to an embodiment ofthe present invention, the control unit 110, the communication unit 120,the power supply unit 130, and the audio I/O unit 140, which will laterbe described, are provided in the band unit 100. As described above, themain body 300 may be skipped, or the kind of the main body 300 may bechanged when necessary.

FIG. 5 is a detailed block diagram of a band unit shown in FIG. 1.

The band unit 100 may include the control unit 110, the communicationunit 120, the power supply unit 130, the audio I/O unit 140, a motionrecognition unit 150, a vibration sensing unit 160 and a memory unit170.

The control unit 110 may receive the first signal S1 from thecommunication unit 120. The control unit 110 determines theamplification extent of the received first signal S1, amplifies thefirst signal S1 based on the determined amplification extent and maygenerate the second signal S2. Thereafter, the control unit 110 mayprovide the vibration generating unit 200 with the generated secondsignal S2. The control unit 110 may recognize information on therespective components disposed within the band unit 100 and may performthe overall control on the r respective components based on therecognized information.

The communication unit 120 may receive the first signal S1 from theexternal device by the predetermined communication method and mayprovide the control unit 110 with the first signal S1. Here, theexternal device may be a mobile device, such as a smart phone or atablet PC, a server or other wearable devices.

Meanwhile, the predetermined communication method may include wi-fi,bluetooth, Zigbee, global positioning System (GPS), cellularcommunication, including long term evolution (LTE), LTE Advanced(LTE-A), code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband-CDMA (WDCMA),universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), wireless Broadband(WiBro), and global system for mobile communications (GSM), and wirelesscommunication, including near field communication (NFC), but aspects ofthe present invention are not limited thereto.

The band unit 100 may also receive the first signal S1 by a wiredcommunication method, including Universal serial bus (USB), highdefinition multimedia interface (HDMI), recommended standard 232(RS-232) or plain old telephone service (POTS). Accordingly, thecommunication unit 120 may include at least one of a cellular module, awi-fi module, a bluetooth module, a GPS module, an NFC module, and anradio frequency (RF) module.

The power supply unit 130 may manage power of the wearable device 10under the control of the control unit 110. In an exemplary embodiment,the power supply unit 130 may include a power management integratedcircuit (PMIC), a charger integrated circuit, a battery and a fuelgauge. Although not shown, in an exemplary embodiment, the power supplyunit 130 may receive power by a wireless charging method or a wiredcharging method. In an exemplary embodiment, the wireless chargingmethod may be one of a magnetic resonance method, a magneticallyinductive method and a electromagnetic wave method, and an additionalcircuit, for example, a coil loop, a rectifier, or a resonance circuit,may be added. In addition, the battery may store or generate electricityand may supply the wearable device 10 with the power. Here, the batterymay be a rechargeable battery or a solar battery.

The audio I/O unit 140 may convert the sound received from the externaldevice into an electric signal. Alternatively, the audio I/O unit 140may convert an electric signal into a sound to then be supplied to theoutside. That is to say, the audio I/O unit 140 may convert the soundand the electric signal in bidirectional ways. In an exemplaryembodiment, the audio I/O unit 140 may include a microphone forreceiving the sound from the outside, and a speaker for supplying thesound to the outside. In addition, in the specification of the presentinvention, the audio I/O unit 140 as a single module is illustrated, butaspects of the present invention are not limited thereto. The microphonefor receiving the sound from the outside, and the speaker for supplyingthe sound to the outside, may be independently disposed in the band unit100.

The motion recognition unit 150 may sense an operating state, a physicalquantity, an acceleration or an angular speed of the wearable device 10and may provide the control unit 110 with the sensed information. In anexemplary embodiment, the motion recognition unit 150 may include agesture sensor, a gyro sensor, an acceleration sensor, an angularsensor, and a proximity sensor.

The vibration sensing unit 160 may sense a physical vibration applied tothe vibration sensing unit 160 and may convert the sensed vibration intoan electric signal. The vibration sensing unit 160 may provide thecontrol unit 110 with the converted electric signal. In an exemplaryembodiment, the vibration sensing unit 160 may include a piezoelectricsensor. In addition, the vibration sensing unit 160 may be integratedwith the motion recognition unit 150 to be formed as a single module.

The memory unit 170 may store data received from the control unit 110 orother components or data generated from the control unit 110 or othercomponents. In an exemplary embodiment, the memory unit 170 may store atleast one of user information and background information. The userinformation may include at least one of user's age, sex, height, weight,finger length and wrist-to-finger length. The background information mayinclude a background noise intensity.

In an exemplary embodiment, the memory unit 170 may be an internalmemory. In more detail, the memory unit 170 may include at least one ofa volatile memory, such as a dynamic random access memory (DRAM), astatic RAM (SRAM), or a synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), and anon-volatile memory, such as an one time programmable read only memory(OTPROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable and programmable ROM(EPROM), an electrically erasable and programmable ROM (EEPROM), a maskROM, a flash ROM, a NAND flash memory, or a NOR flash memory. Inaddition, the memory unit 170 may be a solid state drive (SSD).

Meanwhile, in an exemplary embodiment, the memory unit 170 may be anexternal memory. In more detail, the memory unit 170 may further includea flash drive (e.g., a compact flash (CF) drive, secure digital (SD),micro secure digital (micro-SD), mini secure digital (mini-SD), extremedigital (xD), a memory stick, and/or the like. In this case, the memoryunit 170 may be connected to the wearable device 10 via variousinterfaces.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a method for controlling a wearabledevice according to an embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 7 isa flowchart illustrating the method for controlling a wearable deviceshown in FIG. 6.

The method for controlling the wearable device 10 according to anembodiment of the present invention will now be described with referenceto FIGS. 6 and 7. Meanwhile, in an exemplary embodiment, the wearabledevice 10 worn on the user's wrist and connected to a smart phone as anexternal device through wireless communication will be described by wayof example.

First, the wearable device 10 may receive a first signal S1 from anexternal smart phone through a communication unit 120 by a predeterminedcommunication method (S100). The control unit 110 may determine anamplification extent of the first signal S1 received from thecommunication unit 120 and may generate a second signal S2 based on thedetermined amplification extent (S200). Next, the control unit 110 mayprovide the vibration generating unit 200 with the generated secondsignal S2 and the vibration generating unit 200 may generate a vibrationcorresponding to the received second signal S2 (S300). Accordingly, thevibration generated by the vibration generating unit 200 may betransferred to the user's wrist. Accordingly, the user may lay his/herfinger on the ear, specifically on the cartilage, and may hear the soundtransferred through the vibration.

Referring to FIG. 6, an intensity (a) of the vibration corresponding tothe second signal S2 is stronger than an intensity (b) of the vibrationtransferred to a user's finger tip through the user's wrist, whichsuggests that the intensity of the vibration is attenuated while thevibration is transferred to the user's finger tip. The intensity of thevibration may be attenuated due to several causes, such as user's bodycharacteristics, background noises, or the like.

Accordingly, the wearable device 10 according to an embodiment of thepresent invention may determine the amplification extent of the firstsignal S1 based on the user information on the basis that the intensityof the vibration may be attenuated, may amplify the first signal S1based on the determined amplification extent and may generate a secondsignal S2. That is to say, the vibration generating unit 200 may applythe vibration corresponding to the amplified second signal S2 to theuser's wrist from the beginning, thereby allowing the user to well hearthe sound transferred through the vibration even if the vibration isattenuated.

To this end, the control unit 110 may include a first transform unit 111performing discrete fourier transform (DFT) on the first signal S1, anamplification unit 112 amplifying a signal for the value obtained as theresult of performing the DFT, and a second transform unit 113 performinginverse discrete fourier transform (IDFT) on the amplified signal. Inparticular, the amplification unit 112 may obtain a gain valuecorresponding to the amplification extent of the first signal S1 basedon the user information and may amplify the first signal S1 byinterleaving the gain value into the DFT performed first signal.

Meanwhile, the user information may be pre-stored in the memory unit170. Alternatively, the user information may be directly input by theuser.

An embodiment for determining the amplification extent of the firstsignal S1 and an amplification method according to the embodiment fordetermining the amplification extent of the first signal S1 will now bedescribed in more detail with reference to FIGS. 8 to 10. In FIGS. 8 to10, the determining of the amplification extent and the amplificationmethod will be described with regard to a case where a plurality ofpieces of user information are input to the memory unit 170 in advance.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment for determining anamplification extent of a first signal, FIG. 9 is a diagram illustratingan amplification method according to the embodiment for determining anamplification extent shown in FIG. 8, and FIG. 10 is a flowchartillustrating the amplification method according to the embodiment fordetermining an amplification extent shown in FIG. 8.

Referring to FIGS. 8 to 10, the generating of the second signal S2 islargely divided into enhancing formants (P1) and adopting a filter (P2).The enhancing of the formants (P1) and the adopting of the filter (P2)may be simultaneously performed or may be sequentially performed forwindowing purposes (114).

The first transform unit 111 may perform DFT on the first signal S1(S111). At the same time (or sequentially), the amplification unit 112may acquire a linear predictive coding coefficient (LPCC) through linearpredictive coding (LPC) analysis 112 a of the first signal S1.

The amplification unit 112 computes Z-transform digital frequencyresponses using the acquired LPCC (S112). Thereafter, the amplificationunit 112 computes absolute values of complex numbers for the respectivefrequency indices of the Z-transform digital frequency responses andobtains logarithmic values of the absolute values to acquire a linearpredictive coding envelope S113).

In more detail, when the first signal S1 received from communicationunit 120 is defined as y (t), LPCC's are defined as α(p+1), and pdenotes a degree of the LPCC's, results of applying Short-Time FourierTransform (STFT) to the signal and coefficients may be represented by Y(i, k) and A (i, k). Here, i denotes a frame index, and k denotes afrequency index. The control unit 270 may calculate a Z-transformdigital frequency response H(z) using the LPCC's by the followingformula (1):

${H(z)} = {\frac{G}{A(z)} = \frac{G}{1 - {\underset{l = 1}{\overset{p}{Q}}\alpha_{l}z^{- l}}}}$

Next, in order for the amplification unit 112 to obtain a linearpredictive coding envelope using the frequency response H(z) calculatedusing the formula (1), the respective frequency indices F_(k) aredefined by the following formula (2):F _(k)−ln(|II(z)|  (2)

The amplification unit 112 may acquire the linear predictive codingenvelope using the frequency index F_(k) defined in the formula (2).

Additionally, the amplification unit 112 may estimate a formantbandwidth (112 b) and a formant frequency (112 c) (S114 and S115). Inmore detail, the amplification unit 112 may estimate the formantfrequency using a change in the slope of the linear predictive codingenvelope (112 c). The amplification unit 112 may calculate a frequencyin which the slope of the linear predictive coding envelop is changedfrom positive to negative using the formula (3) to estimate thecalculated frequency as a formant frequency (FF):

${{F\; F} = k},{\frac{\mathbb{d}{F(k)}}{\mathbb{d}k} = {{0\mspace{14mu}{and}\mspace{14mu}\frac{\mathbb{d}{F( {k + 1} )}}{\mathbb{d}k}} < 0}}$

In addition, the amplification unit 112 may estimate a bandwidth of atleast one formant frequency based on the CPCC's (112 b). Here, theestimating of the formant bandwidth and the estimating of the at leastone formant frequency may be performed regardless of the order and maybe simultaneously or sequentially performed.

In an exemplary embodiment, the amplification unit 112 may express theLPCC in the form of a 10th degree polynomial, may calculate a complexnumber root and a real root using a Bairstow technique, and may estimatebandwidths of the respective formant frequencies. In more detail, theLPCC P(z) can be written in the 10th degree polynomial by the formula(4):P(z)=Z ^(m) +a _(m-1) z ^(m-1)+0+a ₁ z+a ₀)z ^(m)

Then, the real root or the complex number root of the 10th degreepolynomial for the Z-transform digital frequency response H(z) and theLPCC P(z) are calculated. In order to obtain the real root or thecomplex number root, the Bairstow technique may be used, as representedby the formula (5):

${{H(z)} = \frac{G}{\underset{i = 1}{\overset{P}{O}}( {1 - {p_{i}z^{- l}}} )}},{p_{k = r_{k}}{\mathbb{e}}^{j\; w_{k}}}$

The amplification unit 112 may obtain the bandwidth Bk corresponding toeach of the formant frequency (Fs) using the formula (5), as representedby the formula (6):

$B_{k} = {{- \frac{F_{s}}{\pi}}{\ln( r_{k} )}}$

Then, based on the linear predictive coding envelope, the amplificationunit 112 may determine whether the first signal S1 is a voiced sound oran unvoiced sound (112 d, S116). In more detail, the amplification unit112 determines whether the first signal S1 is a voiced sound or anunvoiced sound according to the condition of the formula (7).

That is to say, if the condition of the formula (7) is satisfied, theamplification unit 112 determines that the first signal S1 is a voicedsound.

Voicedsignal, A max  < 2N_(AV)  or  L_(max) < N_(pt)/4  or  LA_(max) < N_(AV)/2$A_{\max} = {{MAX}( {{{{{II}( L_{\max} )}A_{MX}} = {{{{MAX}( {S_{R\; 1},S_{R\; 2},S_{R\; 3},S_{R\; 5}} )}S_{R\; 1}} = {\underset{k = 0}{\overset{{({{Npt}/8})} - 1}{Q}}{H(k)}}}},{S_{R\; 2} = {{\underset{k = {{Npt}/8}}{\overset{{({{Npt}/4})} - 1}{Q}}{H(k)}S_{R\; 3}} = {\underset{k - {{Npt}/4}}{\overset{{({3{{Npt}/8}})} -}{Q}}1{H(k)}}}},{S_{R\; 4} = {\underset{k = {3{{Npt}/8}}}{\overset{{({{Npt}/2})} - 1}{Q}}{H(k)}}}} }$

where NAV is an average of formant values of a pertinent frame and Nptis a magnitude of the frame when DFT is performed.

The amplification unit 112 may constitute a formant enhancement filter112 e based on the formant frequency, the formant bandwidth, thecharacteristics of the determined voiced sound or unvoiced sound and theuser information. That is to say, when the vibration generated by thevibration generating unit 200 passes the user's body, the amplificationunit 112 may in advance enhance a portion of the formant frequency justin case where a loss is generated in the portion of the formantfrequency.

In more detail, the amplification unit 112 calculates the modifiedHamming window for the formant bandwidth in consideration of thecharacteristics of the voiced sound or unvoiced sound using the formula(8), and determines a peak value of the modified Hamming window inconsideration of the user information (112 f):

${G( {n,k} )} - \frac{{h(n)} - {\min(h)}}{1 - {\min(h)}} + 1^{a{({i,k})}}$${a( {i,k} )} = \frac{\log( {{{FR}( {i,k} )}} )}{\log( {{Y( {i,k} )}} )}$${h(n)} = {0.54 - {0.46{\cos( {2\pi\frac{n}{N}} )}}}$

where a is a peak value of the Hamming window modified in considerationof characteristics of the voiced sound or unvoiced sound and the userinformation, h(n) is a Hamming window, and FR (i, k) is a frequencyresponse of the user's body based on the user information.

As described above, the user information may be pre-stored in the memoryunit 170. In this case, various user characteristics are classified anda plurality of user information groups may be generated according to theclassified user characteristics. The plurality of user informationgroups may be pre-stored in the memory unit 170 and the user may selectone of the pre-stored user information groups. In such a manner, theselected user information group may be reflected on computation forobtaining a gain value, which will later be described. Meanwhile, whenthe user does not select any of the user information groups or when thewearable device 10 according to an embodiment of the present inventionoperates for the first time, the amplification extent of the firstsignal S1 may be determined using one of the plurality of userinformation groups, which is set as a default.

Referring to FIG. 8, when the vibration is applied to users A to C, allof the users A to C show different vibration intensities 710 anddifferent frequency responses 720, suggesting that vibrations areattenuated differently according to user characteristics included in theuser information.

Therefore, the user may select one of a plurality of pieces of userinformation pre-stored in the memory unit 170. Accordingly, theamplification unit 112 may extract the one selected by the user amongthe plurality of pieces of user information pre-stored in the memoryunit 170 and may constitute the formant enhancement filter 112 e basedon the selected user information. That is to say, the formantenhancement filter 112 e means a gain filter for amplifying ato-be-amplified portion of the DFT-performed first signal S1 based onthe user information (S117).

The amplification unit 112 may generate a third signal S3 by applyingthe formant enhancement filter 230 to the DFT performed first signal S1using the formula (9) (112 g, S118). The second transform unit 113 maygenerate the second signal S2 by performing (IDFT) on the third signalS3 and may provide the vibration generating unit 200 with the generatedsecond signal S2 (S119).Y _(enh)(i,k)=GY(i,k)

Accordingly, since the control unit 110 amplifies the first signal S1based on the user information in advance before a vibration isgenerated, it is possible to overcome attenuation of voice quality orclarity, which may be caused when the vibration generated by thevibration generating unit 200 is attenuated or distorted by mediumcharacteristics of the user's body while passing the user's body. Inmore detail, in order to minimize a difference between the formant ofthe first signal S1 and the formant of the second signal S2, the gainvalue with the medium characteristics of the user's body taken intoconsideration is applied to the first signal S1, thereby improving theclarity of the first signal S1. In addition, since the gain value isappropriately applied to the first signal S1 according to the userinformation, the quality of the first signal S1 can be more accuratelyimproved.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment for determining anamplification extent of a first signal. In the following description,compared to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the repeated contentwill not be given.

Referring to FIG. 11, in the present embodiment for determining theamplification extent of the first signal, user information may bedirectly input by the user. The user information may be input bycommunication with an external device or may be directly input by theuser. In the latter case, the band unit 100 may further include an inputunit for inputting the user information. The control unit 110 maycompare the input user information with a plurality of pieces ofpre-stored user information. In such a manner, the control unit 110 mayextract from the memory unit 170 the user information among theplurality of pieces of pre-stored user information, which is mostsimilar to the user information directly input by the user. Accordingly,since the user is allowed to directly select the user information thatis most similar to the directly input user information from the controlunit 110, user convenience can be improved.

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating still another embodiment fordetermining an amplification extent of a first signal. In the followingdescription, compared to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, therepeated content will not be given.

Referring to FIG. 12, in the present embodiment for determining theamplification extent of the first signal, user information may bedirectly measured by the user. In more detail, when the user intends todirectly measure the user information, the wearable device 10 accordingto an embodiment of the present invention is worn on the user's wristand a user's finger is brought into contact with an external object,thereby generating a vibration and a sound corresponding to thevibration.

The audio I/O unit 140 may receive the sound corresponding to thevibration generated by the user and may provide the control unit 110with the received sound (a). In addition, vibration sensing unit 160 maysense the vibration transferred to the vibration sensing unit 160through the user's body and may provide the control unit 110 with thesensed vibration (b).

The control unit 110 may calculate a frequency response for the userbased on the signal received from the audio I/O unit 140 and the signalreceived from the vibration sensing unit 160. In such a manner, thecontrol unit 110 may generate user information and may provide thememory unit 170 with the generated user information.

The control unit 110 may determine the amplification extent of the firstsignal S1 using the user information stored in the memory unit 170 andmay generate the second signal S2.

Meanwhile, the wearable device 10 according to an embodiment of thepresent invention may perform a user authentication procedure throughthe above-described process. That is to say, the wearable device 10 maycompare the user information pre-stored in the memory unit 170 with theuser information measured by the user who is currently putting on thewearable device 10 to confirm whether the pre-stored user information isidentical with the measured user information, thereby performing theuser authentication procedure.

Next, coupling relationship between the band unit 100 and the vibrationgenerating unit 200 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.13 to 18. However, shapes of the band unit 100, the vibration generatingunit 200 and coupling members 300 a-300 g are not limited to those shownin FIGS. 13 to 18. Rather, the band unit 100, the vibration generatingunit 200 and coupling members 300 a-300 g may have various structures,shapes and sectional structures.

FIGS. 13 to 18 are diagrams illustrating various embodiments forexplaining coupling relationship between a band unit (100) and avibration generating unit (200).

The band unit 100 may be coupled to the vibration generating unit 200 bythe coupling members 300 a to 300 g. That is to say, the band unit 100may be spaced apart from the vibration generating unit 200. In anexemplary embodiment, the band unit 100 may not be brought into directcontact with the vibration generating unit 200. With such couplingstructures, it is possible to prevent the vibration generated by thevibration generating unit 200 from being transferred to the band unit100, causing inconvenience to the user, or to prevent the vibrationapplied to the user's body from being affected by the band unit 100. Inaddition, in an exemplary embodiment, the band unit 100 may bedetachably coupled to the vibration generating unit 200. Accordingly,when a defect is caused to one of the vibration generating unit 200 andthe band unit 100, only the defective one may be replaced.

First, referring to FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B, the band unit 100 may becoupled to the vibration generating unit 200 by a plurality of couplingmembers 300 a. The plurality of coupling members 300 a in forms ofbridges may fixedly couple the vibration generating unit 200 to the bandunit 100. The plurality of coupling members 300 a may have resilience toprevent the vibration generated by the vibration generating unit 200from being transferred to the band unit 100. In addition, the number,shapes and arrangements of the plurality of coupling members 300 a arenot limited to those shown in FIG. 13A and FIG. 13B.

Referring to FIG. 14A and FIG. 14B, the coupling member 300 b may bedisposed between the band unit 100 and the vibration generating unit200. In order to prevent the vibration generated by the vibrationgenerating unit 200 from being transferred to the band unit 100, thecoupling member 300 b may be formed as a shock absorbing member or adamper. The coupling member 300 b may be configured to correspond toshapes of the vibration generating unit 200 and the band unit 100. Thestructure of the coupling member 300 b is not limited to the circularshape, as shown in FIG. 14A and FIG. 14B.

Referring to FIG. 15A, the coupling member 300 c may be a spring havingresilience. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the vibrationgenerated by the vibration generating unit 200 from being transferred tothe band unit 100. Referring to FIG. 15B, the coupling member 300 d maybe bent and may suppress the vibration generated by the vibrationgenerating unit 200 from being transferred to the band unit 100 throughbent portions.

Referring to FIG. 16, the band unit 100 may include a groove portion H1.A vibration generating unit 200 a and a coupling member 300 e may bedisposed in the groove portion H1. In more detail, the coupling member300 e may be disposed between the vibration generating unit 200 a and abottom surface of the groove portion H1. In an exemplary embodiment, thecoupling member 300 e may be a spring having resilience and may beconfigured to surround a body of the vibration generating unit 200 a.The vibration generating unit 200 a may include a wing portion 201extending from the body. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent thevibration generating unit 200 a from being separated from the band unit100.

Referring to FIG. 17, the band unit 100 may further includes holesformed in one surface on which the vibration generating unit 200 comesinto contact with the user's body and the other surface facing the onesurface. The band unit 100 allows the internal air to enter or leave thesame when the vibration generating unit 200 generates a vibration,thereby suppressing the vibration from being transferred to the bandunit 100. Meanwhile, the wearable device 10 according to an embodimentof the present invention may be so configured as shown in FIGS. 17A to17E, to allow only the air to enter or leave while preventing foreignmaterials, such as water or dust, from being introduced through theholes.

In more detail, referring to FIG. 17 (a), the band unit 100 may includea groove portion H2 having greater width and length than the vibrationgenerating unit 200. The vibration generating unit 200 may be coupled tothe through the coupling member 300 f having resilience.

Referring to FIG. 17 (b), the band unit 100 may include a connectingmember 101 connecting band unit 100 to another band unit. The connectingmember 10 may be located to correspond to the coupling member 300 fcoupling the band unit 100 and the vibration generating unit 200 to eachother.

Referring to FIG. 17 (c), the band unit 100 may further include a spring300 g coupling one surface on which the vibration generating unit 200comes into contact with the user's body to the other surface facing theone surface. Referring to FIG. 17 (d), the band unit 100 may furtherinclude a protrusion 102 extending toward the other surface of thevibration generating unit 200. Referring to FIG. 17 (e), the vibrationgenerating unit 200 may include a plurality of holes 202 which arepassageways allowing the air to enter or leave, thereby suppressing thevibration from being transferred to the band unit 100.

Referring to FIG. 18, the vibration generating unit 200 may include onesurface coming into contact with the user's body and the other surfacefacing the one surface. The vibration generating unit 200 may furtherinclude a shaft 203 disposed on the other surface of the vibrationgenerating unit 200. The shaft 203 is disposed on the other surface ofthe vibration generating unit 200 and may offset sounds generated by thevibration generated by the vibration generating unit 200.

FIG. 19A and FIG. 19B are a diagram illustrating a method for driving awearable device according to an embodiment of the present invention. InFIG. 19A and FIG. 19B, the method for driving the wearable device 10according to an embodiment of the present invention will be describedwith regard to a case where the wearable device 10 is worn on a user'swrist.

The motion recognition unit 150 may generate one of first motioninformation and second motion information based on user's motion. Inmore detail, in a case where the user raises his/her arm, like in FIG.19A, the motion recognition unit 150 may generate the first motioninformation and may provide a control unit 110 with the generated firstmotion information. Not only in the case where the user takes such amotion as shown in FIG. 19A but also in a case where the user takes amotion similar to the motion shown in FIG. 19A, the motion recognitionunit 150 may generate the first motion information and may provide thecontrol unit 110 with the generated first motion information. In thiscase, the vibration may be transferred by the user's body.

Conversely, in a case where the user lowers his/her arm, like in FIG.19B, the motion recognition unit 150 may generate the second motioninformation and may provide the control unit 110 with the generatedsecond motion information. Not only in the case where the user takessuch a motion as shown in FIG. 19B but also in a case where the usertakes a motion similar to the motion shown in FIG. 19B, the motionrecognition unit 150 may generate the second motion information and mayprovide the control unit 110 with the generated second motioninformation. When the control unit 110 receives the second motioninformation, it may provide the audio I/O unit 140 with a second signalS2. Accordingly, the audio I/O unit 140 may provide a voicecorresponding to the second signal S2 to the outside. The user may hearthe voice provided through the audio I/O unit 140.

Meanwhile, the motion sensing operation performed by the motionrecognition unit 150 may be switched on/off under the user's control.When the motion sensing operation is switched off, the control unit 110may provide the vibration generating unit 200 with the second signal S2,as described above, without receiving motion information from the motionrecognition unit 150.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a wearable device system according toan embodiment of the present invention and FIG. 21 is a diagramillustrating a method for operating the wearable device system shown inFIG. 20. In the following description, compared to the embodiments shownin FIGS. 1 to 19, the repeated content will not be given.

Referring to FIGS. 20 and 21, the wearable device system according to anembodiment of the present invention may include a wearable device 10 anda wireless communication device 20.

The wearable device 10 may be worn on the user's body, specifically, theuser's wrist. The type of the wireless communication device 20 is notparticularly limited, so long as it can transmit or receive data to orfrom the wearable device 10 through wireless communication. That is tosay, the wireless communication device 20 may include, for example, asmart phone or a tablet PC, a server or other wearable devices.

The wearable device 10 may transmit/receive data to/from the wirelesscommunication device 20 using a predetermined communication method. Inmore detail, the predetermined communication method may include wi-fi,bluetooth, Zigbee, global positioning System (GPS), cellularcommunication, including long term evolution (LTE), LTE Advanced(LTE-A), code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband-CDMA (WDCMA),universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), wireless Broadband(WiBro), and global system for mobile communications (GSM), and nearfield communication (NFC).

The wearable device 10 may receive a first signal S1 from the wirelesscommunication device 20 (S100). In an exemplary embodiment, the firstsignal S1 may be a voice signal. Thereafter, the wearable device 10 maydetermine an amplification extent of the received first signal S1 andmay generate a second signal S2 based on the determined amplificationextent (S110). The wearable device 10 may generate a vibrationcorresponding to the second signal S2 (S120), and may apply thegenerated vibration to the user's body. In an exemplary embodiment, theuser may lay his/her finger on the ear, specifically on the cartilage,and may hear the sound corresponding to the first signal S1.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment for determining anamplification extent of a first signal shown in FIG. 21.

Referring to FIG. 22, as described above with reference to FIGS. 8 to10, the amplification extent of the first signal S1 may be based on theuser information. The user information may be acquired by the userdirectly measuring the user information. In this case, the wirelesscommunication device 20 may function as a receiver. To this end, thewireless communication device 20 may include a control unit 21, avibration sensing unit 22 and a communication unit 23.

In an exemplary embodiment, the user may wear the wearable device 10according to an embodiment of the present invention on his/her wrist anda user′ finger may be brought into contact with the wirelesscommunication device 20. In more detail, the user may lay his/her fingeron a portion of the wireless communication device 20 where the vibrationsensing unit 22 is positioned. Then, the wearable device 10 may generatea vibration and may provide the wireless communication device 20 withthe generated vibration through the user's body (a).

The wireless communication device 20 may sense the vibration through thevibration sensing unit 22 to generate sensing information and mayprovide the control unit 21 with the generated sensing information (b).The control unit 21 may provide the communication unit 23 with thesensing information. The wireless communication device 20 may performwireless communication with the communication unit 120 of the wearabledevice 10 through the communication unit 23, thereby providing thecommunication unit 120 of the wearable device 10 with the sensinginformation (c). Based on the sensing information and an intensity ofthe vibration initially provided through the vibration generating unit200, the control unit 110 may calculate a frequency response for theuser. In such a manner, the control unit 110 may generate userinformation to then provide the memory unit 170 with the generated userinformation.

The control unit 110 may determine the amplification extent of the firstsignal S1 using the user information stored in the memory unit 170through the above-described process.

Meanwhile, the wearable device 10 according to an embodiment of thepresent invention may also perform a user authentication procedurethrough the above-described process. That is to say, the wearable device10 may compare the user information stored in the memory unit 170 withthe user information directly measured by the user who is currentlyputting on the wearable device 10 to confirm whether the stored userinformation is identical with the measured user information, therebyperforming the user authentication procedure.

Although the foregoing embodiments have been described to practice thewearable device of the present invention, these embodiments are setforth for illustrative purposes and do not serve to limit the invention.Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modificationsand variations can be made, without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention as defined in the appended claims, and suchmodifications and variations are encompassed within the scope and spiritof the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wearable device comprising a band unit; and avibration generating unit coupled to the band unit, wherein the bandunit comprises a communication unit receiving a first signal by apredetermined communication method and a control unit determining anamplification extent of the first signal received from the communicationunit and generating a second signal based on the determinedamplification extent, and the vibration generating unit receives thesecond signal from the control unit and generates a vibrationcorresponding to the second signal, wherein the control unit determinesthe amplification extent of the first signal based on user information,and the user information includes at least one of user's sex, height,weight, finger length or wrist-to-finger length.
 2. The wearable deviceof claim 1, further comprising: a first transform unit performingdiscrete fourier transform (DFT) on the first signal; an amplificationunit obtaining a gain value based on the user information, applying thegain value to the DFT performed first signal and generating a thirdsignal; and a second transform unit performing an inverse discretefourier transform (IDFT) on the third signal and generating the secondsignal.
 3. The wearable device of claim 2, further comprising a memoryunit storing the user information, wherein the amplification unitobtains the gain value based on the amplification extent stored in thememory unit.
 4. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein the band unitfurther comprises an audio input/output (I/O) unit inputting externalsound or outputting sound to the outside.
 5. The wearable device ofclaim 4, wherein the band unit further comprises a vibration sensingunit sensing an external vibration and the control unit setting the userinformation based on the sound input through the audio I/O unit and thevibration sensed by the vibration sensing unit.
 6. The wearable deviceof claim 4, wherein the band unit further comprises a motion recognitionunit generating one of first motion information or second motioninformation based on user's motion and providing the control unit withgenerated one of the first motion information or the second motioninformation.
 7. The wearable device of claim 6, wherein when the firstmotion information is input, the control unit provides the vibrationgenerating unit with the second signal, and when the second motioninformation is input, the control unit provides the audio I/O unit withthe second signal, and the audio I/O unit receives the second signalfrom the control unit and outputs the sound corresponding to the secondsignal to the outside.
 8. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein theband unit includes one surface being in contact with user's body andanother surface facing the one surface, and the vibration generatingunit is exposed to the one surface of the band unit to then provide theuser's body in contact with the one surface of the band unit with thevibration.
 9. The wearable device of claim 8, wherein the vibrationgenerating unit further comprises a shaft disposed to the other surfaceof the band unit.
 10. The wearable device of claim 1, further comprisinga coupling member disposed between the band unit and the vibrationgenerating unit, wherein the vibration generating unit is coupled to theband unit by the coupling member.
 11. The wearable device of claim 10,wherein the coupling member includes a plurality of support units havingresilience.
 12. The wearable device of claim 10, wherein the couplingmember further comprises a shock absorbing unit preventing the vibrationgenerated from the vibration generating unit from being transferred tothe band unit.
 13. The wearable device of claim 1, wherein thepredetermined communication method includes wi-fi, bluetooth, Zigbee,global positioning system (GPS), cellular communication, including longterm evolution (LTE), LTE Advanced (LTE-A), code division multipleaccess (CDMA), wideband-CDMA (WDCMA), universal mobiletelecommunications system (UMTS), wireless Broadband (WiBro), and globalsystem for mobile communications (GSM), and wireless communication,including near field communication (NFC).
 14. The wearable device ofclaim 1, wherein the user information further includes user's age.